Adult
• 5 Sessions of Learner’s Materials
• 5 Sessions of Teaching Materials
• Handouts
1. Ruth 1:1-18
2. 2 Kings 5:1-19
3. Phil 3:4b-21
4. Acts 10:34-43
5. Acts 6:8-15
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be visiting with a few of our old friends: Ruth, Naaman, Peter, Paul, and Stephen. Some of these characters may be more familiar to us than others, but as is the case with all relationships, the more time we spend with each individual, the more we will get to know them—even the ones we already know rather well. After all, even when it comes to people we know well, there is always more to learn.
As we progress through the different sessions in this unit, it will become more and more evident that characters mentioned—despite any differences they might have—all have at least one common denominator among them: they all grow. To be more specific, they all confront experiences that challenge their commitment to the process of maturing. It is, after all, usually much easier just to stay the same than to make the effort to become a new person, a different person, a better person. However, each of the five characters we will look at eventually do embrace the need for change. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, they accept their responsibility for initiating those changes—even when there are consequences to be had for doing so.
Of particular interest is that even though all of the characters up for discussion were transformed in very different ways, they still grew nevertheless. For instance, Ruth grows and changes because of what she learns through a significant relationship. Naaman, on the other hand, is able to make necessary adjustments in his life only because he is willing to listen to people and perspectives foreign to his own culture. In the meantime, Peter not only faces his failures, but learns from them as well, while Paul’s persistence proves to be the key to his spiritual metamorphosis. And finally, Stephen models commitment in his maturing.
Although the numerous areas of life in which change occurs have been known to vary, we cannot dismiss the persistent Scriptural affirmation that change does not affect us individually without making its mark on the rest of the world in the process. On the contrary, change in one person’s life goes on to touch others. As Harry Chapin sang, "Now if a man tried to take his time on earth and prove before he died what one man’s life could be worth…well, I wonder what would happen to this world?"
by John Ballenger
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